Saturday, September 28, 2013

Yes indeed, more beads for the kids of Beads of Courage but this past week I needed to get a few sets in my Etsy shop so had to make some beads for grown ups too ! lol ! Not that the grown ups are doing any shopping in my Etsy shop. :( Still, it needed to be done and I had F-U-N making them too. I always have fun making beads for the kids and I am continuing to do that with each torch session. I've made at least two beads for them every time I sit at the torch. Lately the only reason only 2 beads is because they have been bigger and have taken longer to make. The bowl with the BOC beads needs to be mailed because it's filling up pretty quickly since I am torching about every other day now. The count right now is 55 with a few more in the kiln. Top two photo's below are of BOC beads I've made recently. So much fun. Top photo is a new design for me of little dinosaurs. I hope the kids like them. The beads for grown-ups were a lot of fun to make as well ! And I LOVE LOVE LOVE how they turned out. The last photo below is just one of the sets I made the other day. Not in my Etsy shop yet but will be by Monday. I love the color combo's in this set and I really like them etched.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Yep, more for the kiddo's. :) I can't help it. I'm having too much fun making these beads. I hope the kids like them too. If anything, making some of these beads has shown me I need to work on some skills ! Like stringer work, encasing (of course !) and not working too hot when it's not needed. It all takes practice of course. I have NEVER been good at stringer work and most likely never will be. My hands tend to shake too much. Just me. I'm not nervous, just a bit shaky when I don't want to be. lol ! So I hope the kids aren't too critical when they see a spotty or shaky line where it's not suppose to be. lol ! I don't think they would be. This weekend Flametree Glass Shop in Roswell, GA. is having Beads of Courage day. They invite beadmakers to come in and make beads all afternoon for the kids. They provide the mandrels and glass ! What could be better ! Free glass to play with and the kids get the beads. Nice. :) Here's a link to their website page from a day of beadmaking for Beads of Courage https://flametreeglass.com/index.php?main_page=page&id=10 Looks like a blast ! I generally do not make beads in the afternoon but maybe this is just what I need for a change. Plus I'd get to finally meet some fellow glassy folks. Now that would be cool ! Ok so here's a couple of pictures. The first one is of my favorites so far this week and the second one is of all the beads so far . I need to count them but I'm guessing right around 45 give or take. Plus there are more in the kiln. I just got a new press so played with it today and created a couple new to me critters with it. We'll see how those turned out ! lol ! Anyway, the white polar bear, peace signs and love bug (white dots on wings) are all from the BOC book of 20 tutorials, Hot Glass For Cool Kids, that Diane of Soda Lime Times put together. Here's the link again http://www.sodalimetimes.com/bocbook.html which also takes you to the e-mag Soda lime Times. :) The little mouse on a wedge of cheese is from a seperate issue of Soda Lime Times. All the rest are just my fun times at the torch. As you can tell, I LOVE LOVE LOVE playing with bright colors. They are my favorites. I love most all colors but the brights are my most favorites. :)

That's all for now. Thanks so much for coming by ! I hope you come back again very soon to see what's happenin'.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

I'm still able to torch early in the morning so that's where I've been lately. The cool early mornings are great then around 9 - 10 am it's time to close up shop so to speak. The heat and humidity are back. lol ! "They" are saying we're going to cool down - 80 degrees - for a high come this weekend. Nice. I am anxious for fall and winter weather ! My time of year ! Ok so since I'm able to torch a bit in the early morns, I've been making more beadies for the kiddies of Beads of Courage. They are still in need as far as I know and I'm sure always will be. I've been so totally inspired to keep making beads for the kids that I've let my Etsy shop wane and I need to get busy with that again too. Not enough time in the day geesh....Anyway, as long as the kids need a bead, I'll keep at it. :) I'm inspired, I'm having fun, I'm learning new techniques, I'm revisiting old techniques and just enjoying all of it. Knowing too that each bead I make for the kids will be loved. The kids themselves are such an inspiration. All that the kids have to deal with on a daily basis I just can't imagine. So yes, they inspire me to keep on keepin' on ! :) Wow, now that's an old sayin' I haven't heard in a while. lol ! I've mailed in two boxes this past week and the picture below shows the most recent one. I had so much fun making these beads ! It was recently posted that the kids love bumpy beads, dot beads, encased beads, odd shaped beads and the Peace sign beads. Sooooooo I made bumpy beads, a few odd shaped beads and some critter beads. No encased beads mainly because I am lousy at encased beads ! lol ! I give it a shot every now and again but more on that another time. The critter beads are hard to see because they are standing up on their "paws". lol ! The peace sign beads are soaking as I type so those will be pictured another time along with today's beads.

So as I mentioned before, if you are a beadmaker, PLEASE take a few moments of your torch time each time you torch and make a BOC bead. Send them in when you get about 30 done. Believe me, you will feel soooooo good knowing you're bringing a smile to some kid who truly needs a smile. :) Besides that - it's fun !

Thanks so much for coming by. Please come back again soon to see what else I've been up to. :)

Thursday, September 5, 2013

Beads of Courage is still in desperate need of your handmade lampwork beads. Please do what you can. When you're at your torch please take a few moments and make just one or two beads for the kids. I promise, the more you do it, the more you get into it ! lol ! It's such a great feeling knowing that little beadie you just made will go to a child that's gone thru some serious stuff. These little bits of our own creativity will bring a simple smile to a kid who needs to smile. :) Those little beadies are well loved by these kids too so you know YOUR bead will be cherished ! That alone is a great feeling I think. It was recently posted on LE (www.lampworketc.com ) that the kids LOVE certain kinds of beads. Those are: Beads with the Peace sign, bumpy beads, anything encased in clear and polka dot beads. It also said the boys in particular love dark and bright colors and odd shaped beads. I've posted a photo below of the box of beads going in the mail today. The post also said the minute the beads are received, they are shipped out to hospitals in the program. Most of the beads pictured are made from the tutorials that are in the e-book I posted a link to in the previous post. Here it is again http://www.sodalimetimes.com/bocbook.html There are some in there that are my own playtime beads. lol ! Still, that e-book is chock full of 20 tuts the kids will LOVE !

Please do what you can to help out the kids. So easy for us to do and really not at all time consuming. Just a couple a day and send in when you get at least 30 beads. That's it. :)

Thanks to all of you that have donated and those of you that will be. :)

Until next time, thanks for coming by ! Please come back again soon. :)